Interview with Farmer During Dust Bowl

Hope Is All They Really Have. By Jason Huynh
In a small town off of Tulsa, many farmers from this area have fled in search of a better life. A few remains hoping to reawaken their broken spirit, they wait and hope to see daylight again. One of the few is farmer Joe Tucker, 42, his wife and three children. Like his father and grandfather, Joe spends his days working on the farm he inherited from many generations before him. However unlike his ancestors, Joe might not be able to pass on the family farm to the next heir. Thanks to industrialization and development of the technology in the 20s, John and his wife, Karen were able to produce mass amount of crops more than ever before, of course once they started, many of their fellow farmers were capable to do so as well. What this mean is that with higher production of goods such as crops, the demand goes down therefore the crops aren’t worth as much. This is the source of his problems, which only exacerbate once the Dust Bowl hit in 1932.

Oklahoma Chronicle: What was life like before the Stock Market Crash?
John Tucker: Life was much easier with the help of advanced technology; we were making a secure amount of money. We had a good life, in the mid 20’s; my wife was still pregnant with our first child. We had opportunities to buy other items besides the necessities such as that sewing machine and refrigerator.

Oklahoma Chronicle: Have it been easy trying to feed 5 mouths? What was the hardest?
Joe Tucker: Since the crash in 29’, its have been really hard, especially with the expanding of technology. It is now much easier to product mass goods with less energy than before, however, this mass production have decrease the demand for our goods therefore price has gone down. It has been downhill since then, and in the midst of it all, the drought and the Dust Bowl hit.

Oklahoma Chronicle: Describe the recent changes in your living style.
Joe Tucker: Many things have change for the worst including finance and...